Fluid pressure regulator



Patented Qct. 7 1952 UNITED sures mm OFFICE FLUID PRESSURE REGULATORWilgot J. J acobsson, Plainfield; N. J assignor by mesne assignments, toUnion Carbide and Carbon Corporation,- a corporation of New YorkApplication Octo er 194 se ial No. 700,692

' Claims. (or. 50-23) This invention relates to a fluid pressureregulator and has for an object to insure alignment of the movableandstationary parts of its valve whereby such valve has less creep, lessdanger of leaking, and wear is distributed more uniformly. Anotherobject is to provide such a valve which is sensitive and has morepermanent pressure values which are not as much in danger of changing ashave the pressure values ofsome previous valves. Yet a further object isto elimi-' valve of such type that the movable and stationary partsthereof shall always be in the same parallel position with the axes ofboth such parts maintained in alignment to insure a tight fit when thevalve is closed, keep creep to a small value, and thus insure uniformwear between the cooperating parts of such a valve.

changing and requiring frequent adjustment especially in a sensitiveregulatorvalve. In such a valve having its movable element open andbalanced between spring forces acting upon such side of such movablepart there has been a tendency for hum to be present. The main objec-jtion to such hum is not merely auditory but the hazard of rapid Wear inthe valve parts.

According to this invention these difiiculties have been eliminated andan improved fluid pr'e s sure regulator valve provided. Specifically. aflexible disc constitutes the movablevalve element. Its peripheralportion is clampedto maintain thedisc always parallel to the stationary:

pass through it is clamped contiguous the valve disc, yet it is cupshaped'to extend axially upstream away from the disc far enough toenable the valve closing spring to be inserted Within the porous cup. I

Referring to the drawings:

- Fig. l is a longitudinal section through a per-'- Another diff flcultyhas been the danger of a pressur setting A sintered disc'lB is a B.

2 tion of a gas pressure regulator, illustrating one embodiment of thisinvention;

Fig. 2' is a longitudinal section through a portion of anotherregulator, illustrating another embodiment of the same invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the unitary cup-shaped filterand spring support;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the flexible "disc constituting-themovable element of the valve; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the resilient pronged hum suppressor.

As shown in Fig. 1 the pressure regulator includeshousing 9 Within whichis provided a high pressure or supply passage l0 leadingto a valvecontrolling the pressure in the low pressure chamber II to which areconnected a pressure gauge and anoutlet passage. The usual flexiblediaphragm I2 has a'stronghelical spring l3 cooperating therewith toassist'in opening the valve against-a pressure on the diaphragm 12.Valve opening movement of the diaphragm I2 is transmitted through thevalve stem [4 of stainless steel or bronze to the movable valve element,which in this case is'a flexible disc l5 of rubber. As is customary inthis art the term seat is applied to that, one of the valve parts whichhas the softer face. "In the present instance the seat is the flexibledisc I5 cooperating with the stationary valve part or nozzle l6preferably of stainless steel. A plurality of symmetrically arrangedperforations llare located in the flexible disc [5 radially outside ofthe nozzle 16. A particular material found satisfactory'for the flexibleF. Goodrich rubber sheet thick known as grade 8380. Perforations I"!lead from the high pressure side of the valve to an annular recess l8surrounding the nozzle l6.

'--Having its edge clamped contiguous the peripheral portion of theflexible disc [5 is a filter element 19 of conical or cup shapeconstruction formed of sintered brass known as Porex having circuitousinterconnected pores. The particular rade of such filter material is No.3 or finer filter of particles no larger than .0005" in size. Theperipheral flange of the filter cup is clamped contiguous the disc l5 bya threaded sleeve 26. The threads of this sleeve engage correspondingthreads in. the removable abutment member or bushing 2| or valvemounting bushing of bronze or other suitable material allowingthe valveassembly to be removed and inserted in the housing=9 by the screwthreads illustrated.

-As shown the sleeve 20 holds the nozzle IS ag'ainst'an annular shoulderwithinthebushing 2 I, and also sealingly presses the peripheral portionof the valve disc I5 between the adjoinin peripheral portions of thenozzle I6 and the filter element I9. Thus, the disc I5 serves a dualpurpose; adjacent its outer edge it acts as a sealing gasket between thenozzle and the lip of the filter element; and, at the nozzle inner edge,it seals off the gas flowing through the nozzle when the usual pressureadjusting screw is turned counterclockwise to free the pressureadjusting spring I3 of its loading and when delivering pressure exceedsa preset value.

Between and cooperating with the filter cup and flexible disc I5 is acoil spri'ng22 for seating:

the valve disc against the nozzle IS. The disc I5 is unseated bymovement of the diaphragm I2 being transmitted to the stem I4.-For-thispurpose a diaphragm attaching screw 23 of brass or similar material isprovided with a central tav pered recess in which the valve stem I4 iscentered thus forming a separable-socket joint.-

After the valve is closed-the;diaphragm ;I2 and its attaching screw 23may moveto the right or away from the stem III in Fig. 1 without thevalve stem being moved therewith. Threaded onto this attaching screw 23is a nut 24 of the general cup shape shown in Fig. 1.- A usual diaphragmplate 25 is placed between the nutand diaphragm. 7

To prevent hum of the valve assembly including the disc I5 and preventobjectionable wear of the valve elements, a hum suppressor of the typeshown in Fig. 5 is held by the spring I3 contiguous the nut 24 while itsspring prongs 2I frictionally engage the 'in'ner surface-of a cup 28 forthe housing, providing just enough friction to suppress any hum withoutconstituting an objectionable drag upon the movable-valve element. Thishumsuppressor 26 and its spring prongs are made of an appropriateresilient material such as Everdur. The cap 28 is threaded onto thehousing 9 to clamp the peripheral portion 1 of the diaphragm IZ-betweenthem, as shown in Fig. 1. I

A central perforation 29 in the disc I5 permits the valve stem I4 toextend through the disc I5, the stem having an enlargement contiguousthe face of the disc with which the nozzle I6 cooperates whereby thefilter and' valve closing spring press a backing up member against thedisc so that the stem I4, valve seat, and backing up member operate as aunit. The valve seat is strictly the portion of the disc I5 between thecentral hole 29 and surrounding holes II which portion cooperates withthe nozzle I6 when the valve is closed. This seat closes perfectly whenthe screw 23 is disengaged from the stem. This seat portion is thusflexibly guided by the portion of the disc I5 outside the seat andinside the clamped edge. This guiding element tends to realign the seatautomatically should any eccentric pressure be applied to the seatportion of the disc during operation. In another sense slightmisalignment of the valve seat in opening and closing is not serious dueto theyieldable mountingof the valve seat because this mounting with thespring 22 tends to accurately align and center the valve seat onclosing.

This valve may be designated as one having a self-aligning valve seat,which is an improvement on this disclosed in the prior application ofJacobsson et al., Serial No. 592,212, filed May 5, 1945, for AircraftBreathing Oxygen Regulators. By the term self-aligning seat is meant oneof at least a slightly yieldable material whose sealing surface with noeffort becomes parallel with its cooperating or mating sealing surfacewhen moved into contact and irrespective of whether or not thestationary sealing surface may be axially aligned with the valve axisand precisely normal or at right angles thereto. The fiexure of thediaphragm I5 may be regarded as tilting to conform to any slight tiltthe nozzle I6 may have, and it-may be seen from the drawing that such atilt is about a point in the general plane of the diaphragm I5.

1 The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2 has many corresponding partsnumbered similarly to those in Fig. 1' except that the small letter a isadded inconnection with each such corresponding part in this Fig. 2.Many'of the parts are of different shape however. The valve stem Ila hasa slightly different shape as has also the conically tapered cup shapefilter member ISa. Instead of having a disc I5a-and filter element I9aclamped by a removable sleeve on the upstream side of the valve, suchthreaded clamping sleeve 30 is located on the downstream or low pressureside of the valve. Thevalve mounting bushing 3| as also shown is of adifferent construction. However, in both embodimentsthe valve mountingbushing 2I or 3I is removable from the housing to permit inspection andrepair of the valve assembly. The diaphragm attaching screw 32 is ofvsomewhat different shape, the same being engaged by a nut 33 locatedwithin'the convolutions of the spring I3a. The cap 28a. against whichtheprongs 21a of the hum suppressor frictionally contact, is shown as beingmade of thinner pressed or stamped metal clamped, againstthe diaphragmI2a by the screw clamp 34 threaded on the housing 9a.

Sintered brass filter elements of the type described are adapted toarrest a backfire flame by causing such flame portions'to enter thenumerouspores and be quenched as the flame portions are bent through thenumerous tortuous interconnected pores. A filter element of the typedescribed causes a pressure drop across the filter element of about 5pounds when the flow is at the rate of 1000 cubic feet of gas per hourunder pounds pressure. This filter element I9 is not too gas permeablebut has such a degree of permeability that the filter is adapted todelay a high pressure gas surge sufficiently to protect the yieldablematerial of which the valve seat and disc are composed from beinginjured by heat in event of a sudden surge of high pressure gas thereon.The seat is further protected from such injury by the ability of thefilter element to absorb heat, such filter is heat conductive and alsothe pressure drop referred to effects a slight expansion of the gas andtherefore a cooling action.

Among the advantages of this invention may be mentioned the lesslikelihood that the valve has to leak and the 25% to 50% less creep, aswell as more uniform wear, all due to the planes of the ends of thenozzle and valve seat being parallel and coinciding when the valve isclosed. The creep is also low due to the valve seat making contact withall the nozzle in a short time on closing as a result of the yieldablemounting of the seat. The present valve is more sensitive and has morepermanent pressure values due to the edge portion of the flexible discbeing clamped to constitute the outer perforate portion of the disc aseat guide. Permanent pressure values are also due to the stem I4 havingno other than straight line motion when centered in the socket shown forit in the screw 23. The stem being separate from the diaphragm attachingscrew permits proper seating of the valve without precision alignment ofthe valve seat disc and'the diaphragm. The permanent flexible valve seatdisc enables adequate flow of either liquid or gas through the valve andregulator. The hum suppressor eliminates rapid wear in the valve seatwhich might otherwise occur were hum allowed to continue, yet the springprongs of the hum suppressor may be adjusted to give only enoughfriction and not substantially more than enough to eliminate the hum.Locating the filter element next to the valve precludes particles ofscale or dirt which might fall off from the walls of the housing betweenthe filter and valve from getting into the valve.

I claim:

1. A fluid pressure regulator having a casing comprising an inlet andoutlet and a port between said inlet and said outlet, a movable valvemember controlling the flow of fluid through said port and coaxial withthe latter, said valve member being the inner portion of a resilientdiaphragm clamped adjacent its periphery, a spring bearing against oneside of said valve member and pressing the latter toward said port, astem having a shoulder bearing against the other side of said valvemember, said stem being guided by said valve member, having one endthereof extending axially through said valve member and having the otherend thereof projecting axially through said port and being ofsubstantially smaller diameter than said port, and a pressure responsivediaphragm coaxial with said port and loosely connected to said stem,whereby the construction and arrangement is such that the looseconnection of said stem to said diaphragm and the space provided betweenthe port and stem permits automatic realigning of said valve member andsaid stem axially relatively to said port during the operation of saidregulator.

2. A fluid pressure regulator having a. casing provided with an inletpassage, an outlet passage, and a nozzle between said passages, amovable valve member controlling fluid movement through said nozzle,said valve member being an inner portion of a resilient diaphragmclamped adjacent its periphery, a valve closing spring applying pressureagainst one side of said diaphragm and pressing the latter toward saidnozzle, a pressure responsive diaphragm generally parallel with andspaced from the valve diaphragm, a stem of smaller diameter than saidnozzle extending therethrough between said diaphragms supported andyieldably guided by one of them without any rigid guide bearing for saidstem for opening the valve diaphragm by flexing it away from said nozzleunder fiexure of the pressure responsive diaphragm toward the valvediaphragm, that one of said diaphragms by which the stem is notsupported having a plate contiguous to it provided with a tapered recesssubstantially coaxial with said valve diaphragm and stem into which theunsupported end of said stem is separably socketed while able to tiltslightly with respect thereto as the valve diaphragm may tilt in closingagainst said nozzle, whereby creep is reduced and the space between thestem and nozzle, the yi-eldable guide and support for the stem, itsseparable and socketing connection with one of said diaphragms, and itsfreedom from having any rigid bearing, permit tilting either or both ofsaid stem and valve diaphragm and reduce friction, enabling said valvediaphragm movement to be sensitive to pressure changes on the pressureresponsive diaphragm.

3. A regulator according to claim 2 in which said inlet passage leadsfluid to the side of said valve diaphragm away from said nozzle and thatvalve diaphragm is provided with a perforate portion radially outsidethe nozzle and radially within the clamped peripheral portion of thevalve diaphragm.

4. A regulator according to claim 2 in which the stem is supported andguided by the valve diaphragm.

5. A regulator according to claim 2 in which a cup-shaped filter has itsperiphery clamped contiguous said valve diaphragm and the end of thevalve closing spring remote from the valve diaphragm cooperates withsaid cup-shaped filter.

WILGOT J. JACOBSSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

